John L. Hedges Administrative Center

Acquired in 1986, 218 Madison was built in the 1930s, and formerly housed an automobile dealership. In 2001, the building, which housed administrative offices, program registration, the buildings and grounds headquarters (including vehicle storage) and formerly the District’s Gymnastics Center, was named after John L. Hedges, Park District Executive Director from 1980 to 2000.

Renovations made from 2001 to 2006, reorganized office workspaces, converted storage space into offices, streamlined the customer service and registration area, converted lighting fixtures to energy saving models, and replaced roof trusses in the Gymnastics Center. A Facility Improvement Study conducted in 2006, focused on improvements to the existing facilities on a short-term (1 to 3 years) basis with an emphasis on the Buildings and Grounds and Gymnastics Center. The Study identified needed structural repairs such as replacement of roof trusses, reconstruction of the basement ceiling, masonry repair, ventilation system replacement, and roofing replacement. The District was actively pursuing the relocation of one or all of the following: Administrative offices, the Gymnastics, and/or the Buildings & Grounds functions. In 2011, the Park District purchased the 25 Lake Street property with the Board approving moving the gymnastics program to it. An architectural firm was hired for validating the cost of moving gymnastics to 25 Lake Street,
expanding Building and Grounds, and renovating Administration at 218 Madison. In 2013, the gymnastics programs were relocated to the new Gymnastics and Recreation Center.

In 2015, the District completed a redevelopment of both the Buildings and Grounds space as well as the Administrative area. These improvements provide buildings and grounds the work space needed and brought the entire building up current code.